But, just like every other athletic program across the country, COVID-19 has changed the course of another season, this time for fall sports. As conferences try to figure out how and when athletes can compete, the Big West Conference board of directors announced on July 29 that fall sports would not be played for the rest of the calendar year. 

The postponement impacted the tennis, soccer, cross country and volleyball teams at Cal State Fullerton.  

“I thought of my seniors. That was my first initial reaction, to make sure they’re OK” said volleyball head coach Ashley Preston.

Despite a losing record in 2019, the CSUF volleyball team made tremendous strides since the senior class of 2020 were underclassmen. In 2017, the Titans went 5-24, but last season the team went 12-15, the most wins the team has achieved in Preston’s five seasons at the helm.

“Just what we built from last year, and for them now, it’ll look different, because we don’t know what the future holds,” Preston said.

The same could be said for the women’s soccer team, which won the Big West title last year and went unbeaten in 16-straight games before losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to USC. Even with the regular season set to begin in 9 days, head coach Demian Brown said he and his team sensed that the season would not begin on time. 

“It wasn’t much of a surprise for us,” Brown said. “We felt it was coming where so many conferences across the country have already made the similar decision.”

The decision was made by the board, which is made up of the conference’s 11 university presidents, including CSUF president Fram Virjee.

Back in June, the board said they would issue a statement on the plan for fall sports no later than July 20, but on that day, they said that they were still assessing the situation and pushed the announcement date to Aug. 1. The delay brought displeasure to people on social media, given that conferences like the Ivy League, Patriot League and the Atlantic-10 had already postponed their fall sports while other conferences were delaying the start of theirs. 

Nine days later, the Big West ultimately made its decision on fall sports, citing the serious health and safety challenges COVID-19 presents to each campus. 

“I am proud and pleased that we, as both an individual campus and a collective conference, continue to navigate this pandemic by the light of our preeminent North Star — the health and safety of our faculty, staff, students and fans,” Virjee said. “I want to express our communal deep disappointment and sympathy for our student-athletes.”

Brown said that the university administration and athletic director Jim Donovan have been great at communicating information about the program, and in return, he was able to keep the communication with his team through Zoom just as good, given that he has not seen them since March 11.

“Because of how our communication has been going, I really do think that women took things as well as they could,” Brown said. “You have some women that train hard and they’ve been working out hard, and so that can be frustrating. But at the same time, we talk a lot about controlling controllables and just taking really good care of care of ourselves.”

The volleyball team has communicated just as frequently, and Preston said she has seen this as a chance for her and the coaching staff to build young women. It’s the team becoming a tight knit unit in both volleyball and in life that Preston said she believes will translate to the whenever the team can return to the court, as she has already filled out a journal of things to relay to her team during games. 

“I’m constantly taking notes through this time too, like, ‘Oh, I want my players to remember this when we get back on the court,’ and we had them also watching video and tracking themselves, and we wrote down the notes that they saw so that we can reiterate that in spring,” Preston said. “The things we’re doing right now, it’ll just translate because it’ll be the same things that they hear when we’re able to get back on the court.”

When Preston and her team can return to the court still remains in question, as the board stated that at some point in the future they may play fall sports in the spring, depending on the fluidity of COVID-19.  Preston said she is optimistic that they will have a season in the spring, but she, along with Brown, recognize that there are a lot of moving parts in the decision making and they will not know what will happen for a while. 

The women’s soccer team traditionally plays a spring schedule every year, and Brown said if they could get a couple more matches added to that it would help prepare for a 2021 season.

“I would love to be a part of any type of conversation that could help that along, but I understand that there’s a lot of moving parts. It wouldn’t be a simple fix, there’d be a lot of work that went into that,” Brown said. 

Despite the uncertainty of a season and not practicing now, Preston said she tries to focus on what is going on right now, because it is all that you can control. 

“If you’re thinking about the past, you’re depressed. If you’re always thinking about the future, you’re anxious. Focus on the present, because that’s all you have right now,” Preston said. “This is the perfect indication in August of practicing what I preach.”

The post With no games in the near future, head coaches face a new reality appeared first on Daily Titan.

By Lauren Wong and Stepheny Gehrig

While the rest of the world was baking and making TikToks, Taylor Swift was writing an album. On July 23, Swift surprised the world with the release of her eighth studio album “Folklore.” 

The album’s release comes almost a year after the release of “Lover” and only six months after her Netflix documentary, “Taylor Swift: Miss Americana.” The 16 tracks of “Folklore” showcases Swift’s journey as she changes her narrative and public image. 

“It started with imagery. Visuals that popped up into my mind and piqued my curiosity,” Swift said on her social media platforms. For the first time, none of the tracks stand out as radio hits. The album proves that Swift is no longer making music in an effort to people-please.

The songs illustrate stories of adultery, innocence and heartbreak. Swift said, “I created character arcs and recurring themes that map out who is singing about who. For example, there’s a collection of three songs I refer to as ‘The Teenage Love Triangle.’ These three songs explore a love triangle from all three people’s perspectives at different times in their lives.” 

Of the few noteworthy songs on the album, the second track “Cardigan,” is a melancholy piece about being used in a relationship. In the first verse, Swift references her past evolution as she sings, “Vintage tee, brand new phone,” similar to the branding of the “Red” album and “Sequin smile, black lipstick,” a callback to her outfit at the 2016 Met Gala during her “Reputation” era. 

Accompanied by soft instrumentals, Swift furthers the idea of being manipulated in a relationship as she sings, “And when I felt like an old cardigan/ Under someone’s bed/ You put me on and said I was your favorite.” 

“Cardigan” is the first song of “The Teenage Love Triangle,” where she sings, “Chase two girls, lose the one,” in reference to the songs “Betty” and “August” which are featured later in the album. 

“Exile,” featuring Bon Iver, gloomily examines the difficult feelings that two past lovers face when seeing each other. Swift and Bon Iver both sing “I think I’ve seen this film before/ And I didn’t like the ending,” which are eerily similar to the final lyrics of Swift’s 2010 song “If This Was A Movie”: “It’s not the kind of ending you want to see now/ Baby, what about the ending?” 

As opposed to Swift’s 2010 track, which explores the feelings of being utterly in love, “Exile” divulges the complicated emotions that are tied to the ending of a relationship and the hardships of letting someone go: “I’m not your problem anymore/ So who am I offending now?”

“August,” the most notable track of the album, is the second song of the love triangle. The song evokes a similiar tone to her earlier albums as it tells the story of a summer fling and the heartbreak it brought: “And I can see us twisted in bedsheets/ August sipped away like a bottle of wine/ ‘Cause you were never mine.” 

Despite being the most memorable song on the album, the lyrics of “August” do not provide the listener with a memorable story. Ultimately, the song’s upbeat melody makes it the most appealing and radio-worthy track on the album.

“Betty,” the final part of the love triangle, begins with a nostalgic harmonica tune. The names of the parties are revealed to be Betty, James and Inez — James’ gender is never revealed leading to much speculation from fans online that “The Teenage Love Triangle” is sapphic. 

The lyrics, “Yeah, I showed up at your party / Will you have me?  / Will you love me?” reveal that the narrator has shown up unannounced to proclaim their love for Betty. The love triangle is a complicated and messy one, in which the narrators appear to feel as if their worlds are ending. The tracks highlight Swift’s ability to artistically intertwine stories.

The songs “Exile” and “Betty,” written by both Swift and William Bowery, sparked a lot of conversation with fans online as they speculated that Bowery is Swift’s former partner, Harry Styles. Bowery collaborated with Swift on two of the three love triangle songs. 

Not only do fans suspect Styles as Bowery, many noticed subtle nods to Styles’ latest album, “Fine Line,” which was released on Swift’s birthday, throughout “Folklore.” Specifically, the thematic similarities between Swift’s music video for “Cardigan” and Styles’ music video for “Falling” are uncanny as they both illustrate the singers underwater and playing a piano. 

Similarly, in “Illicit Affairs,” Swift sings, “Don’t call me baby,” an idea that is all too familiar to fans of Styles as he sings in “Cherry,” “Don’t you call him ‘baby’.” However, the most striking nod to Styles in “Folklore” is in the song “August.” Swift’s vocals and instrumentals during the last minute of the song parallel the last two minutes of Styles’ song “Fine Line.”

“Invisible string,” reflects on the love story of Swift and long-time boyfriend Joe Alwyn. “And isn’t it just so pretty to think /All along there was some / Invisible string / Tying you to me?” is an analysis of her past relationships and experiences. The song is full of eerie but detailed imagery, and its title represents “A single thread that, for better or for worse, ties you to your fate.” 

The lyrics “For the boys who broke my heart / Now I send their babies presents” are speculated to be an ode to Swift’s ex Joe Jonas, whom she wrote “Forever and Always” about in 2008. The lyrics are almost unnecessary to the story, but amplify Swift’s beliefs that her past is what led her to Alwyn. The song takes the audience through the couple’s love story and makes the audience feel as if they were there, creepily lurking and watching Swift and Alwyn. 

The closing track “Hoax,” feels like a final goodbye to a toxic relationship. The lyrics are raw and full of hopelessness: “You knew it still hurts underneath my scars / From when they pulled me apart / You knew the password so I let you in the door /You knew you won so what’s the point of keeping score?”

The somber lyrics are accompanied by a soft piano and orchestra that emphasize the loneliness that Swift felt. In an interview, Aaron Dessner, Swift’s co-writer for “Folklore,” said that the track was added as a bookend to the album. “There’s sadness, but it’s a kind of hopeful sadness. It’s a recognition that you take on the burden of your partners, your loved ones, and their ups and downs.”

“Folklore” is a manifestation of Swift’s talent and evolution from a hopeful teenage girl to a secure and mature 30-year-old woman. Although the album is a shift from pop to indie-folk, the lyrics are filled with the storytelling techniques Swift is known for. 

For the first time, the stories told are not relatable ones that the audience can place themselves in. Despite the fact that the story is hard for the audience to relate to, the themes in the album are reminiscent of Swift’s older works which makes “Folklore” bittersweet. Although the album proves that Swift’s talent for storytelling has only gotten stronger, “Folklore” as a whole fails to stand out. 

The release of “Folklore” signifies the end of Swift’s pop era and the beginning of the next.

The post Taylor Swift continues to change her narrative and public image with “Folklore” appeared first on Daily Titan.

Capt. Scot Willey of the University Police said that the suspect, Ahmadreza Rahemi, nearly ran over a CSUF parking officer twice as he attempted to escape a citation.

Rahemi is a student, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, but Willey said Rahemi is not a student at or associated with CSUF in any way.

Willey said that Rahemi told University Police he did not intentionally attempt to hit the officer with his vehicle, but that the two did get into a verbal altercation prior to the incident.

“The suspect was detained at the scene and basically verified all of the information, saying that he didn’t mean to go after him with his vehicle, but the vehicle lost control when he tried to speed off,” Willey said.

The parking officer initially noticed the vehicle while Rahemi was on the athletic fields, which is closed to the public and CSUF students due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Willey said. 

“His whole job is just to walk around and make sure that people who are parked there are paying for their permit because that is still in effect,” Willey said. 

The officer was going to give Rahemi a citation for not having a parking pass or permit, but Rahemi jumped into his vehicle and started backing out, nearly hitting the officer and the officer’s vehicle in the process, Willey said.

He said that University Police officers responding to the call arrived in time to detain Rahemi as he was attempting to flee the scene. 

“He was blowing through all the stop signs, he turned left onto State College which is a right turn only, so he violated that as well, and then he blew through a red light as the officers were going after him,” Willey said.

After officers conducted a traffic stop with Rahemi, he was identified by the parking officer, Willey said. He added that Rahemi cooperated with his arrest and was booked at Orange County jail.

“With the victim desiring some prosecution and with the stories corroborating, they arrested the suspect for assault with a deadly weapon,” Willey said. 

Rahemi was released from the Orange County jail on Friday morning after posting bond.

The post Man arrested on suspicion of nearly running over a CSUF parking officer, police say appeared first on Daily Titan.

The decision will affect CSUF’s women’s tennis and volleyball, men’s and women’s soccer and golf, along with women’s cross country.

“In making the decision, the board recognized the continued serious challenges to health and safety on Big West campuses and communities impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic,” said the Big West board of directors in the announcement. 

The decision does not mean that the postponed fall sports will be canceled, as the board left the option to have the affected sports be played in the spring, depending on how the COVID-19 pandemic progresses. That decision will be made later in the year.

Winter sports, specifically men’s and women’s basketball, are not affected by the decision even though they are slated to begin on Nov. 10, according to the board. 

The Big West is the latest conference to announce the postponement of fall athletics, as the Ivy League was the first to do so back on July 8.  

The move affects the 11 schools that are in the Big West, which is made up of mostly Cal State Universities and UC schools, as well as the University of Hawai’i.

In 2019, the women’s soccer team was the first team at CSUF to play in the fall, as they began their regular season on Aug. 22. 

No school in the Big West has announced their schedule for fall sports, but CSUF women’s soccer head coach Demian Brown said in May that the first game of his team’s season was scheduled for Aug. 20. The conference will allow athletes to return to their campuses, but it will be up to each university to determine if they will allow it or not. 

The last Big West competition of the year was a softball matchup between Long Beach State and Boston University on March 12. That same day, the conference suspended all spring sports and canceled them a day later. 

With no postponement of basketball, the CSUF men’s and women’s basketball teams, as of now, are set to be the first sports to return to Fullerton. Neither team has announced their schedule for the upcoming season.

The post Big West postpones fall sports, may be played in spring appeared first on Daily Titan.

It’s all those words that convince students to reach higher, only to realize they are grasping at empty promises.

If there’s anything more disheartening than the tough labor of breaking through class and racial barriers in the academic field, it is the lack of rewards found at the other side of it. For journalism students of diverse backgrounds, it is the lack of employment and opportunity in newsrooms outside of their campus.

Facing constant rejection by major news publications, it’s as if all the progress of getting through an uneven playing field was sent back to square one. All of the late hours of meeting deadlines, editing and calling sources for the hundredth time and dreading possible mistakes just to now sit by a laptop and wait for change to come around.

It’s time for those changes to come into play before it’s too late for both newsprint journalism and journalists themselves.

After putting up with more than three decades of racial maltreatment, neglect and unjust marginalization, the Black and Latino Caucuses under the Los Angeles Times Guild have decided to come forward and deliver a well-deserved verdict for the L.A. Times newspaper — it has failed to commit to confronting racism within and outside the walls of its newsroom.

On June 23, the Black Caucus wrote a letter full of righteous criticism and a list of demands, with the Latino Caucus and journalism educators in the California State Universities following suit with their own lists of demands on July 21.

All three letters were delivered to the owner of the L.A. Times, San Diego Union-Tribune and other news organizations, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, who had purchased the newspapers in 2018.

These letters not only highlight the need to hire more journalists of color or for formal apologies that frankly would not do much progress in itself, they also stress the potential these changes could bring to the current state of journalism.

Looking for stable jobs in journalism is like searching for a bountiful oasis in a barren desert.

While the world evolves into more refined technology, so does the format for news media, as broadcast television and digital-native news publications push newspapers out of the job market.

So, how can the decline of the newspaper industry and the lack of employment opportunities be saved? It’s simple — hire Black and Latino journalists who reflect the population of the county and reshape coverage that reaches further into communities of color.

Hire graduates who don’t come from better-resourced institutions, but from public universities like the CSUs. Hire student journalists whose backgrounds better represent the ever-changing demographics of California.

“Build a newsroom that reflects the demographics of L.A. County, where Latinos are nearly 50% of the population,” states the Latino Caucus in the list of demands. “To start, we ask for a pledge that you hire enough Latino journalists to, at a minimum, meet the county’s demographics halfway within a period of five years.”

The L.A. Times and newspapers alike can’t afford to continue this outdated pattern of exclusivity that has kept newsrooms mostly white. They cannot expect to keep readers of different communities around when stories written by white journalists don’t reflect their unique experiences.

No one says it better than the Black Caucus of the L.A. Times Guild:

“Often, our framing and selection of stories is designed mostly with a white audience in mind at the expense of communities of color. Our coverage must capture the nuance and complexity, in particular, of the Black community. That starts with listening to reporters.”

The post The state of journalism needs more of us appeared first on Daily Titan.

Mayor Jennifer Fitzgerald spoke against the measure and said it was too soon to have this go back to the ballot, as safe and sane fireworks were last legalized in Fullerton in 2012.  

“I think focusing on safe and sane fireworks is a distraction to where this community should be focused on, which is the illegal fireworks,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s the one idiot, it’s not all of us, that are the problem.”

Mayor Fitzgerald and council member Bruce Whitaker voted against the motion while council members Jesus Silva, Jan M. Flory and Ahmad Zahra were in favor of adding a fireworks measure on the ballot.

“We still need to address the issue of enforcement. So, either way, we will have to start looking seriously about ongoing yearly engagement with the community, educating them,” Zahra said. “But, at this point, I think it’s only fair that the community gets to decide again.”

Chris Nigg, deputy chief of administration and fire marshal of the Fullerton Fire Department, gave the council a 2020 public safety report on fireworks, in which he noted the complaints, enforcement and Fullerton’s fireworks activity in comparison with other cities. 

From July 1 to 7, Fullerton had 23 fire responses whereas Brea and Costa Mesa had two, Nigg said. On the Fourth of July, Brea only had one fire issue while Fullerton had 14 fire responses. 

“If you look over a five-year time frame, it’s actually kind of difficult to tell or to come up with a rhyme or reason as to how the fire responses play out over the years. However, it is important to note there is a correlation between the cities that do have safe and sane bans and the cities that do allow safe and sane fireworks,” Nigg said. 

Nigg said that he is hesitant about using Costa Mesa’s numbers for data comparison because though the city is similar to Fullerton in population and size, there are other factors to account for that could be attributed to Fullerton’s high volume of fireworks responses, despite both cities allowing the use of safe and sane fireworks. 

Jose Arana, Fullerton Police Department acting captain, said on the Fourth of July alone from midnight to 3 a.m., the police department received a total of 320 firework-related calls, compared to 2019 where they registered 200 firework related calls.

In regards to their proactive enforcement, Arana said the police department conducted 23 undercover firework operations, starting in late May, which resulted in the confiscation of 1,376 pounds of illegal fireworks, 18 criminal citations and three arrests.

The fireworks agenda item received 16 electronic comments, many of which called upon the council to allow a fireworks measure on the November ballot. 

John Kelly, vice president of TNT Fireworks and safe and sane fireworks wholesale distributor in Fullerton, spoke against a November ballot measure to repeal the sale of safe and sane fireworks in Fullerton. 

“A cohesive effort at the local county and state level will be the only solution for Fullerton or any city’s dangerous fireworks problem,” Kelly said. 

He outlined three steps in attacking the problem of illegal firework activity: refocus the effort into a year-around mission, stem the flow of illegal fireworks into California and enforce severe consequences for any and all violators.

Kelly added that the city could monitor and track illegal fireworks flow in Orange County through programs like neighborhood watch. He said his business could teach enforcement to spot the difference between safe and illegal fireworks.

“The only place you’re going to buy safe and sane is from a licensed booth, not on craigslist, not on Facebook and not out of the back or front of your brother-in-law’s van or trunk,” Kelly said. 

Some Fullerton community members spoke on the essentiality of fireworks as a fundraiser for nonprofits and youth programs, especially those that have suffered financially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“We really need that fundraiser in Fullerton. It’s been a key thing for a lot of youth sports,” one speaker said. “I know that they rely on it heavily and it’s something that I’ve participated in for years and I enjoy.” 

However, other speakers brought up the recurring issues fireworks have caused in the city for the past several years, which includes PTSD for veterans and anxious and rowdy pets.

“Please give us the opportunity for the community to vote. Put it in the ballot and let our residents decide how we can embrace this. I know it can bring revenue, it can bring revenue for different nonprofits but we are resilient and we can create another way to get money,” another speaker said. 

Flory said that the annual fireworks complaints are likely not attributable to safe and sane  fireworks, but supported putting the issue on the November ballot to address the concerns of Fullerton residents.

“This community has experienced fireworks for eight years and I think it’s time for the voters to be able to say yay or nay on it. If they say ‘We are not going to ban fireworks,’ then this community has confirmed its original vote in 2012 and I, for one, will be content with that,” Flory said.

The post Fullerton City Council votes to put fireworks repeal measure on November ballot appeared first on Daily Titan.

Several students who have contracts with University House, which is a self-marketed student housing complex a block from CSUF, are voicing their frustrations after reportedly being denied cancellation of their upcoming leases and facing an over $13,000 loss.

According to the University House website, almost all of its residents are CSUF students. University House leases last from Aug. 19 through July 29 of the following year, according to the complex’s website. However, students, like third-year Courtney Chandler, renewed their leases for 2020-21 last October — without the knowledge that the COVID-19 pandemic would strike five months later, leaving some with leases that they no longer need in the wake of the primarily virtual semester.

Chandler said that the only way that she can be let out of her lease, which would last through July 2021, is if she finds someone to replace her.

“I’ve been trying to find somebody for the past three to four months. I haven’t had any luck. I’ve talked to multiple people. After I realized that a lot of other people were in the same situation and I saw a few comments on their Instagram, I decided to make a petition to draw more attention to the situation,” Chandler said.

Her petition on Change.org urges University House to let residents terminate their upcoming leases. The petition was later expanded to include those living in any complex owned by the Scion Group, the company that operates University House. As of Thursday night, it has collected over 1,000 signatures.

Chandler said she will have to pay about $14,000 for the year-long lease in monthly installments. She also said that she would feel a lot better if she could live with her parents in Lake Elsinore instead of being forced to stay in University House. Even with her current circumstances, she said she is luckier than most to be in a stable financial state.

“I know for a lot of other people how tough it can be with them losing their jobs, especially if their parents have lost their jobs, because I know not everybody can afford it,” Chandler said.

When reached for comment, a representative from University House directed the Daily Titan to the owner of the complex, the Scion Group. Based in Chicago, Illinois, the Scion Group is North America’s leading private owner of student housing, as it employs nearly 1,300 people and operates 86 communities, according to their website.

Keith Thompson, vice president of property operations at the Scion Group, said in an email to the Daily Titan that the company was sensitive to the pandemic’s financial and health impacts on residents, but also said that the company still must pay their mortgage, property taxes, staff payroll and other operating expenses.

“We rely on revenue from our contracted residents to meet our own obligations and to be able to keep the community operating safely for the hundreds of students that make their homes there. This is why we are not in a position to simply allow open cancellation at this point; we must continue to look to our contracted residents under their housing agreements, unless we are able to mitigate our losses from termations,” Thompson said.

He added that if they were able to achieve profit in these circumstances, which he said is unlikely, it would belong mostly to pension funds that in turn provide those returns to retirees.

This fall, Cal State Fullerton will hold only 2.2% of its courses on campus, while the state of the spring 2021 semester remains uncertain.

This left many residents with little reason to stay in Fullerton, such as Angela Arbe, a third-year business major at CSUF. Arbe said she signed her contract with University House in January, and this was to be her first year living in the complex. Now, she said she lives at home in Lake Forest, but is facing around a $13,500 loss if she cannot find someone to take her lease for the upcoming academic year.

“It’s really stressful. Besides stressful, just trying to find someone every day on either Facebook or Craigslist or just answering a bunch of messages, and financially my family can’t afford it right now,” Arbe said.

Arbe said she was put on a termination list in June, which would release everyone on the list from their contracts if the complex could find replacements, but it would only be valid if all the spots were filled. She added that the complex capacity was only at 70%, leaving students to solve the problem themselves.

Thompson said that residents who want to terminate their leases should advise University House personally.

“As we have already done with numerous people in the same situation, we will work cooperatively to attempt to fill those spaces together with all other vacant spaces.” Thompson said. “This process is ongoing and has been successful for many residents whose plans have changed.”

Thompson said that though it primarily serves CSUF students among those at other local colleges, it is not affiliated with any university and accepts non-students.

University House markets itself as “top quality student housing serving Cal State Fullerton” and was designed with the campus in mind, according to the website. 

Aulanah Glenn, a fifth-year public health major from the Inland Empire, said she did not feel taken care of as a student and is struggling to find a replacement for the lease she renewed last fall. On Tuesday, she said that University House told her that if she was not going to be living in the complex for the upcoming year, she would have to pay the entirety of her lease up front.

Glenn said that while she understands that the company has its mortgage to pay too, she said she felt played and exploited.

“I just feel like they don’t really care about the students. It’s advertised as student housing, but I don’t feel like I’m being taken care of as a student,” Glenn said.

She added that many people in University House were not taking precautions against COVID-19, which recently swept Orange County in the second-worst outbreak in California, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“They’re completely not social distancing at all,” Glenn said. “I’ve seen parties. I’ve seen people at the pool; the pool is opened up. And, I just don’t want to stay there.”

The post Some CSUF students may lose thousands to off-campus leases after complex denies cancellations appeared first on Daily Titan.

The move comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced strict criteria on Friday for schools to reopen in California. Under Newsom’s order, schools can physically open if the county they are in is off the monitoring list for 14 consecutive days. Of the state’s 58 counties, 36 are on the list as of Thursday night, including Orange County. 

At the board’s meeting on June 29, a tentative hybrid schedule was approved that would have students have in-person instruction for two days and three days of virtual instruction. The district was already considering the possibility of starting with distance learning even before Newsom’s announcement. 

“After seeing the number of COVID-19 cases rise, board members became concerned with the opening of schools, even using the hybrid model,” said Andy Montoya, the board’s president. 

Despite starting virtually, board member Marilyn Buchi raised concerns about when a safety report for returning to campus would be completed as it would pertain to students, teachers and parents. 

Superintendent Scott Scambray said that a safety committee is working on organizing a plan, and that it will be presented at the next board meeting on Aug. 4, one week before the first day of school for students. He added that teachers could return to campuses on Aug. 3 to retrieve any items from their classrooms as well as coordinate any plans to go in their classrooms any other time. 

Schools within the district have been closed since March 16. Students at the 29 schools in the Fullerton School District, as well as the Fullerton Joint Union High School District, will begin classes on Aug. 11. 

Scambray said that he does not think it will be a hard transition once students can return to the classroom because of the already approved hybrid plan.

“I believe that once we are off the watch list, and then following the two weeks after that, I’m thinking it would take us about a week because our schedule is set up to move right from distance learning into some type of a hybrid model,” Scambray said. “We will be ready.”

The next board meeting will be live streamed through Zoom on August 4 at 6 p.m.

The post Fullerton high schools will officially start virtually appeared first on Daily Titan.

Cal State Fullerton has finally updated its campus master plan after 17 years. 

“This master plan is the culmination of years of effort that involves a significant public input across our campus and community and brought thousands of Titans and folks all over Orange County to the table,” said CSUF president Fram Virjee in a presentation to the California State University Board of Trustees. 

The proposal was passed unanimously by the board’s Committee of Campus Planning, Buildings and Grounds during a virtual meeting on Tuesday. The university typically revises its master plan every 10 years, and since it had not been done since 2003, Virjee said that it would be an understatement to say CSUF’s master plan was overdue.

Issues brought forth by students, faculty and administrators detailed a lack of housing, lack of student amenities, quality of the environment and obsolete buildings among other things. 

The plan aims to shift the campus from that of commuter to residential over the next 20 years, increasing amenities and a greater diversity of transportation options in order to encourage students to stay on campus longer, as laid out by the physical master plan.

The shift in perspective would mean that the expansion of parking structures would be significantly delayed, which would allow for academic developments to be the focus of construction projects. 

“We must modernize Cal State Fullerton if we hope to continue to serve our students safely and effectively,” Virjee said. “Our unwavering purpose during this process of doing our master plan is flexibility, student-centered envisioning documents that ensure integrity, continuity and proper allocation of resources in both building and refurbishing over time.” 

As the student population continues to grow at the university, the plan calls for an additional 2,400 beds for student housing and 350 units for faculty. It emphasizes the need to increase graduation rates and decrease retention by removing commuting barriers, provide more flexibility for faculty and “creating an environment for extended hours of learning and participation.” 

In alignment with a recently released enrollment demand, capacity assessment and cost analysis, the CSUF enrollment ceiling was also increased from 25,000 to 32,000 full-time equivalent, said Elvyra San Juan, assistant vice chancellor in the business and finance leadership department of the CSU. 

According to the plan, funding availability continues to remain unknown, which would limit and delay the construction and implementation of improvements. However, it is estimated that all academic programs will be funded by the state, while remaining projects will be funded by other sources such as donors coupled with student fees. 

Needed funding could amass to be over $1 billion in non-state funding in one area of projects, which does not take into account the other proposals laid out by the master plan. 

Many members of the CSUF community used their time during public comments to vocalize their support of the plan, one of whom was Marcus Reveles, the Associated Students president. 

“As a student leader, I am most excited for increasing the residential options on campus to better support students, accommodating program growth and change by increasing the density of academic spaces that are cross-disciplinary,” he said. 

Reveles added that the preservation of the university’s arboretum, which the plan thoroughly advocates for, was essential for well-being, greenspace, as well as for the various research projects conducted by students and faculty from different disciplines. 

Fran Colwell, president of the Friends of the Fullerton Arboretum, said that the non-profit organization had worked alongside the university to compose the plan and went on to thank Virjee, as well as staff, for their collaboration. 

He added that the organization had been a source for scholarships and volunteer hours for CSUF students, in addition to their continuous support of research and sustainability projects. 

“We are proud of the world-class accreditation boasted by the arboretum that the plan maintained,” Colwell said. “The friends now look forward to future decades of partnership success and strongly support this campus master plan.”    

On behalf of the City of Fullerton, which also contributed to the proposal, Matt Foulkes, the community and economic development director, attended the meeting to show his support. 

He reminded the board that being the only CSU in Orange County, CSUF contributed over $2.6 billion dollars to the region and is the city’s largest employer. 

“The improvement and expansion of the campus as proposed in the master plan represents an exciting future, continued mutual growth and collaboration and success between Cal State Fullerton and the city,” Foulkes said. 

Larry L. Adamson, a member of the board’s Campus Plannings, Buildings, Grounds Committee, said that it was rare for a master plan to not have critics and continued to praise Virjee and his staff members. 

“This plan addressed every critical element that the community and surrounding communities had and raised and I will tell you that you brought it to us with incredible support from all the constituents on this project,” Adamson said. 

He said that while the proposal was aggressive and doubted that every element would come to fruition given the cost, it was still an incredible plan. 

Virjee said the university understood that it would not receive funding for a lot of new buildings, thus the task force wanted to create a master plan that while aspirational, would be practical, achievable and flexible. 

“Our attention is to take what we have and make it better so as to not only support our strategic plan and our academic master plan, but our graduation initiative 2025 and achieve our goals to be a national model of inclusive excellence,” Virjee said.

The post CSUF updates campus master plan after 17 years; aims to shift from commuter to residential campus appeared first on Daily Titan.

As protests continue around the nation, the conversation of institutional and structural racism has come to the forefront in the fight against injustices. Currently, faculty within the Cal State Universities focus on how to combat these issues within their own institution. 

The California Faculty Association, a union representing CSU faculty, released a report on July 1 titled: “Anti-Racism and Social Justice Transformation Package.” The document urges the CSU to provide free tuition to Black, Native American and Indigenous students, whose enrollment has decreased significantly, create programs to help those impacted by the criminal justice system and increase support and the hiring of Black faculty among other things. 

A week following the release of the July 1 report, Cal State Fullerton human communications professor Jon Bruschke published a research report on July 8 that details white privilege in the CSU’s funding structure. 

“The system invests more money per student in campuses that have a larger proportion of white students,” according to Bruschke’s report. 

Bruschke said that it is a commonly known fact at CSUF that the university is the worst funded CSU in the system, which is what sparked his interest in this project years ago. 

After racial justice movements gained a momentous surge following the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, Bruschke said he felt he also had to play his part in fighting for change.

“Unequal educational opportunities are part of the whole systemic question. There’s systematic racism and it’s built into funding for K-12 education, funding for community colleges, funding for higher education and educational opportunities,” he said.  

Bruschke’s research report not only explained the data he found, but also its significance in today’s political context.

“If the CSU takes this moment simply to lament the shortcomings of law enforcement without a thorough self-examination of the role that education plays in the systemic inequities, we will have misunderstood a key element of this moment in history,” Bruschke said in his report. 

He said the obvious solution is to give equal dollars per student across the 23 CSU campuses, and that the real question is how quickly they are willing to do it.

“The point of systematic racism is that even if there were no racists, the system would still produce inequitable outcomes,” Bruschke said. “The only question is: are you more concerned with protecting the privileges of those who have it or addressing the deficiencies of those who do not,” Bruschke said.

Fram Virjee, the CSUF president, issued a statement on May 30 offering his condolences to the Black community amid the national protests due to the death of Floyd.

“These black and brown lives are our students, our future, our Eden. If we do not hear their cries, listen to their lived experience, and step out and stand up for and with them, we will surely perish ourselves as a people and as a nation,” Virjee said. “I feel sure that many are similarly disgusted, incensed, and moved to tears by what is rearing its visage in our communities, wreaking havoc in our institutions, and playing out upon the streets of our country.” 

Bruschke said that the CSU should strive for change to better align with their values as a system, an idea that Siobhan Brooks, professor and chair of the African American studies department, used in the context of CSUF.

“These issues are important not only to students, but they should also matter to faculty invested in social justice, which is a mission of our campus,” Brooks said. “We need to give the message that we care about them as people who want to make a difference in society.”

Black students made up 2% of CSUF’s student population in fall 2019. Black faculty made up 3% of the faculty population for the same semester. 

Brooks said she believes that CSUF should give Black students and faculty more resources to dismantle anti-Blackness, and that classes outside of the African American studies department should include Black content in their courses.

She said that the campus needs to create a more welcoming space for Black faculty and staff, and university departments should value Black scholars who teach about and outside of ethnic studies. 

“We give our students the critical thinking tools needed to negotiate the racialized world we live in,” Brooks said. “In African American studies, one can see how Black struggle and contribution to our society relates to other fields.”

Kristen Rowe, assistant professor of American studies, said the university could better support the Black community at CSUF by offering and committing to monetary structural support, in addition to their statements of allyship. 

“How that can come is more support for research and work that amplifies voices of marginalized communities,” she said. “If we want to make a long standing impact, it needs to be in these material things.” 

Rowe also emphasized the importance of education in building a better world, echoing her support for the ethnic studies bill, AB 1460, a proposal that has been rejected by Virjee and CSU chancellor Timothy White.

“Education is a really important tool,” Rowe said. “You learn about the histories, the stories, the patterns, the counternarratives within our histories that help contextualize and humanize what we see today.”

African American studies lecturer Mei-Ling Malone said she also believes that education is powerful and a good start to looking at structural and radical change in a broader sense, and shared her support for AB 1460. 

“I think that it’s part of the solution for sure, that critical education; just seeing that growth in students after understanding it better and kind of debunking all of these kinds of lies and propaganda,” she said. 

Malone said she is excited to see that the bill is being pushed forward because if more people were able to understand history, they could understand the events rather than get caught up in mainstream media that could play down the problem, spread misinformation or focus on other distractions.  

“Any kind of American studies, ethnic studies or African American studies can help give students the background to really digest the gravity of the problem because it is such a massive systemic issue,” Malone said. 

In addition to the proposition, she said that CSUF could address the issue of institutional racism by having a more comprehensive look at who the school is admitting and reaching out to, as well as the betterment of the hiring process to have a more accurate representation of the school’s population. Malone added that the university should have a genuinely diverse faculty in terms of race, politics, religion, sexuality and so forth.

As protestors move forward with their pursuit of justice and demand equity in higher institutions, including education, Bruschke said that now is not the time for the CSU to host studies or committees that only serve to postpone the issue. 

“Most civil rights actions, the first answer is always you need to wait. I think this moment in history means waiting should be not the top plan,” Bruschke said. 

The next board of trustees meeting will be held on Wednesday, in which the AB 1460, finance and institutional advancements will be discussed.  

The post CSU members call out institutional racism in their own communities appeared first on Daily Titan.

After announcing on June 15 that a decision on the state of fall sports would be made no later than July 20, the Big West announced Monday evening that they will make a decision on the fall 2020 season by Aug. 1. 

“We are being diligent in our approach focused on student-athlete safety and well-being, testing capabilities, medical and facility protocols, amongst many factors,” the board said in a press release. 

The announcement comes as athletic conferences throughout the NCAA are deciding on whether fall sports will begin as scheduled, or be delayed and even postponed as COVID-19 cases continue to rise throughout the country, including California.

Users on social media shared their displeasure with the delay of a decision, as some sports are set to start the 2020 seasons within the next month. 

In 2019, the women’s soccer team was the first team at CSUF to play in the fall, as they began their regular season on Aug. 22. They announced last year’s schedule on June 13, and while the school has yet to announce the 2020 slate, head coach Demian Brown said in May that the first game of the season was scheduled for Aug. 20.

The Pac-12 and West Coast Conference have made decisions on what their conference members will be doing for the fall season. The Pac-12 announced on July 10 that its members would participate in conference-only schedules as well as a delayed start to athletic activities. On Thursday, the West Coast Conference announced that no team will participate in any competition until Sept. 24.

Earlier on Monday, the California Interscholastic Federation, otherwise known as CIF, said that high school sports in the state will not begin until December or January 2021.

Should the Big West move to a conference-only schedule, CSUF would not have to leave California unless it were to play an away game at Hawaii. If the seasons were delayed, both men’s and women’s soccer and golf, women’s volleyball and cross country could be affected.

The post As conferences announce fall plans, Big West delays theirs appeared first on Daily Titan.

The schools that are most affected are the ones that are in counties, like Orange County, which are on the state’s monitoring list as positive COVID-19 cases continue to rise. 

In order for schools to physically open, the county they are in must be off the monitoring list for 14 consecutive days. As of Thursday, 31 of the state’s 58 counties are on the list. 

Due to this new order, schools in OC will not be able to physically reopen, as the county has been on the watchlist for several weeks. 

If and when schools open, they will have to follow a five-principle plan laid out by the governor that outlines: staff and students in the third grade and above are required to wear a mask, and those in second grade and below are strongly encouraged to have face coverings. The order affects not just public schools but private schools as well. 

The plan also includes regular testing, physical distancing with adaptations if needed and rigorous distance learning. 

“If we’re going to have distance learning, and we will, to make sure that it’s real, that we address equity, that we address the divide and it’s quality,” Newsom said. 

While Newsom recognized that most students, staff and parents prefer in-person learning, he said that learning is non-negotiable even if it is done virtually. 

“Schools must provide meaningful instruction during this pandemic, whether they are physically opened or not,” Newsom said. 

Newsom’s decision comes five days after the county’s board of education approved guidelines for students to return to school with no mask or social distancing orders, which had garnered much attention from residents. He said that the safety of the students comes first and is determined based on local health data.

“Safety is foundational and ultimately will make the determination on how we go about educating our kids as we move into the fall,” he said. 

As of July 15, there have been 29,945 positive COVID-19 cases in California in the 0-17 age group, which makes up 8% of the total cases in the state. In Orange County, that same age group makes up 5% of the county’s 27,904 cases. 

Schools across the state began closing on March 13 to slow the spread of the virus, as Fullerton closed its schools on March 16. The Fullerton School District is expecting students to return on August 11 to its 20 K-8 schools for the new school year, as well as the nine high schools in the Fullerton Joint Union High School District. 

The Fullerton Joint Union High School District will hold a special board meeting next Thursday to have a discussion on how they expect to open the school year. 

The post Newsom sets strict criteria for schools who hope to reopen for upcoming academic year appeared first on Daily Titan.

Despite surges in COVID-19 cases, Knott’s Ghost Town will be open July 17-19 and July 24-26 with limited hours and limited daily admissions to those who purchase a “Taste of Calico” tasting card in advance at their website. 

All associates and guests will have their temperature taken before entering the park and face coverings are required at all times.

As guests explore Knott’s dining, merchandise and crafters, they are also encouraged to use contactless payment. Guests are only permitted to remove their masks when eating or in the RelaxedZone, while maintaining social distance. 

Social distancing will also be enforced at the park through marked waiting lines to ensure guests wait 6 feet apart. Dining room seating will be spaced out as well.

Leading up to the event, Knotts employees have also been trained on social distancing rules and handwashing, and will frequently sanitize high contact surfaces throughout the event. 

Knott’s “Taste of Calico” event comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on July 1 that indoor restaurants and bars must reclose for the following three weeks to slow Orange County cases.

As of Thursday night, there have been 10, 683 new reported cases in the last 14 days, with 110 new deaths in Orange County, according to the California state government website. This brings the county’s total case count to 27, 718 and total deaths to 455.

As of May 8, Vice President and General Manager of Knott’s Berry Farm Jon Storbeck said the park’s reopening date remains uncertain and no other updates on the matter have been made since then. 

The post Knott’s Berry Farm “Taste of Calico” event open to limited guests amid surge in Orange County cases appeared first on Daily Titan.

“The health and safety of all Titans and the continuity of high quality education with an unobstructed pass to degree are at the heart of this plan,” said Fram Virjee, the president of CSUF, in a video sent to all students on Thursday morning. “The plan includes information on health screening, personal protective equipment, physical distancing, enhanced cleaning efforts and other practices designed to preserve the health and safety of the small percentage of Titans who return to the physical campus this fall.”

The university has a six-phase reentry plan, beginning with the cleaning and preparation of campus facilities for the semester. On Thursday evening, the chief communications officer Ellen Treanor said that Cal State Fullerton is now entering phase two, which is the return of additional personnel.

Stage three of the plan will begin at the start of the fall semester, where an estimated 4,458 students are set to return to campus for the 239 on-campus courses.

When the semester starts, everyone who steps foot on campus must wear a mask or cloth face covering, as it is required in California. Masks will be provided to all university employees, and if a student forgets to bring a face mask, they can get one at the Environmental Health and Safety office, which is located south of Lot A off of State College Boulevard.

All buildings on campus will have hand sanitizing stations at their entrances, and along with each room, will have signs to indicate which way to enter and exit. To ensure social distancing, desks and seating will be spaced out at least six feet apart, and seats in lecture halls may be either taped off or removed. 

Each classroom will be cleaned at the conclusion of every class. In addition to the custodial staff, there will be staff who are dedicated to cleaning waiting areas and frequently touched surfaces, objects and counters.   

The decision to have 239 classes held on campus was made by the university provost, college deans and faculty members. They said they believed the classes would not be effective if they were held virtually, which then received approval from the chancellor’s office. The majority of classes include clinical labs in the College of Health and Human Development, STEM lab courses and performance courses. 

Students who are enrolled in any in-person classes in the fall semester will receive an email outlining health and safety guidelines by Vincent Vigil, the associate vice president for students affairs and dean of students.

In the event that a student or university employee tests positive for COVID-19, they must remain off campus and should notify the Infectious Disease Response Team so they can disinfect the area they were at and notify anyone they may have been in contact with. 

Marcus Reveles and Skylar Soria, the Associated Students’ president and vice president respectively,  will host a student-moderated online seminar along with vice president for student affairs Tonantzin Oseguera. The seminar will answer questions and discuss important information for people returning to campus next month. It will be posted on the CSUF Student Affairs’ Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube accounts in the near future.

The post CSUF offers a glimpse at what classes will be like in fall semester appeared first on Daily Titan.

Barbie was introduced to the world by Ruth Handler, co-founder of the Mattel toy company, in 1959 “for girls to play out their dreams.” According to the company’s website, “Barbie is committed to shining a light on empowering role models past and present in an effort to inspire more girls.” 

The main argument against Barbie is that she can damage young girls’ self-esteem due to her unrealistic body proportions and features. However, this is not how many children see Barbie, instead it is the view of many adults. 

Society may be moving forward by emphasizing body positivity and focusing on what’s on the inside, but fails to apply this philosophy by judging Barbie solely on her looks, rather than her accomplishments, character and over 200 careers.

Arguing that Barbie’s body is unrealistic is an issue in itself as Barbie is a plastic doll. Children’s toys are rarely an accurate representation of real life, such as the oversized heads of Bratz dolls or neon-colored stuffed animals, and Barbie never claims to have realistic proportions. Focusing on Barbie’s outward appearance also teaches children that women’s bodies outweigh their achievements and character. Embracing Barbie for all she has done, rather than revert to outdated stereotypes, would be a step in the right direction. 

In 2001, Mattel brought Barbie to life with their straight-to-DVD films, where Barbie starred in reworks of classic fairytales. The films were produced in an effort to rebrand and appeal to modern, feminist ideas. The films emphasize the importance of friendship, told through complex characters and stories. 

“Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper,” just one of many Barbie films that emphasizes the importance of self-confidence and friendship, is told through Anneliese, a science-loving princess, and Erika, a poor but determined seamstress. Though adversity is frequent, the heroines ultimately achieve their goals and inspire the audience by showing children that they can do anything that they set their minds to. 

An argument against the Barbie films is usually accompanied by comparison to Disney’s princess films. However, it is notable that the Barbie films showcase strong female relationships and friendships, while older Disney princess films often pit the heroine against other women for the attention of a prince, as seen in Disney’s “Cinderella.” The characters who are played by Barbie show kindness, bravery, strength and selflessness, among many other valued qualities.

Barbie has undoubtedly earned the title of being a timeless role model. She has shown children that they can do it all and be anything from an astronaut or a veterinarian while remaining feminine. In a world where strength and femininity are still sometimes viewed as opposing features, Barbie shows children that they can have both. 

“Since Barbie’s creation, she has always empowered girls to be whoever they want to be,” said Lisa McKnight, senior VP-marketing for Mattel North America. “Barbie was an astronaut before Neil Armstrong made it to the moon.” 

Before deeming her an unfit role model, it is time to look beyond Barbie’s plastic exterior and value her for her strong character and impact instead of her appearance.

The post Despite appearance-based criticisms, Barbie is a timeless role model appeared first on Daily Titan.

The decision was announced on Tuesday at a federal lawsuit hearing brought on by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in which more than 200 schools across the nation were in support of the action against the administration. 

United States Immigration and Customs announced on July 6 that international students on visas cannot remain in the country if their classes were entirely online for the fall semester. The move stirred panic in several universities, such as Cal State Fullerton, where the majority of classes will be held online.

The U.S. District Court Judge Allison Burroughs said that federal immigration authorities agreed to pull the directive and to “return to the status quo.” A lawyer representing the Department of Homeland Security and ICE said that the judge’s interpretation was correct, according to the Associated Press. 

The directive could have cost CSUF alone over $32 million in undergraduate tuition and fees should all international students leave campus for two semesters. The university could have lost more than the estimated loss, as it does not factor in the differences in graduate tuition and the housing revenue from those who live on campus.

Last Thursday, the CSU said on Twitter that it had joined a lawsuit challenging the new directives.

Some viewed the directives as a strategy to force schools to return to in-person classes in the fall, which has been pushed by President Donald Trump, but it instead left many schools unprepared as some are set to begin the new semester next month. 

Jack Hobson, senior director of CSUF’s study abroad program, condemned the directives on Thursday at a seminar for international students, saying that in his 20 years as an international education professional, he has rarely seen something “so damaging to the spirit of global unity.”

“You are a beloved and integral part of who we are as an academic institution,” Hobson said to international students. “You are the future who will help to shape and change our world for the better.

The post ICE withdraws rule that would force many international students out of U.S. appeared first on Daily Titan.

According to the university’s campus plans for fall 2020, an estimated 4,458 students and 289 faculty are planning to attend in-person classes in the fall — just a portion of the over 40,000 student population. Accompanying the students will be approximately 93 staff members and technicians, as well as 16 athletics personnel.

Theater, music, sports, art and lab classes make up the bulk of 239 on-campus courses and learning activities. On-campus classes will make up only 2.2% of the 10,367 fall courses, the rest of which will be offered online as part of CSUF’s majority virtual semester.

In an effort to combat the chaos of last semester’s sudden online transition, all faculty have submitted a plan regarding how they would switch online should in-person courses be abruptly canceled in the fall.

Through the pandemic, athletes have been among the most affected student groups with the cancellation of spring sports. According to the campus plan, Titan Athletics is implementing safety guidelines and education for the fall to allow a “step-by-step progression in support of a return to training, coupled with a cycled phase of sport return.”

“There will be limited in-person instructional skills activities along with a reduction in hours, including a guided and controlled progression back to full athletics,” the campus plan reads.

While sports will still have in-person sessions, time on campus for coaches and staff this semester will be reduced by 87.4% from fall 2019, while student-athlete hours will be reduced by 50.6%, according to the campus plan.

As for facilities on campus, ASI Director Keya Allen said that the Titan Student Union, Student Recreation Center and Children’s Center are not planning to open their physical doors for the fall semester. However, she said that it is subject to change.

“It changes every single day,” Allen said. “In order for us to open these buildings, it’s really going to have to be we’re looking at the state and federal law, the CSU regulations, and whether or not we can reduce the risk of this virus.”

The Children’s Center is currently serving 133 families with virtual classes, while the SRC has been holding virtual fitness classes, Allen said.

Pollak Library will remain closed with limited exceptions through the fall semester, according to an email from library Dean Emily Bonney to faculty on June 30. However, Bonney said that the first floor of the north side will be open to CSUF students as a study area, but will be limited to 150 students should the plan be approved.

“There will be no computers, no printers, and seats must be reserved according to a system still under development.  We will not provide any library services. Two (campus security officers) will monitor entrance to the area and ensure compliance with public health directives,” Bonney said in the email.

Physical materials, such as books and DVDs, will be picked up at the south entrance, she said.

Up to 561 students will live in single bedrooms in campus housing, but final occupancy is subject to change, said Larry Martin, executive director of housing and residential engagement. At maximum capacity, residents will only make up 27% of the fall 2019 housing capacity one year prior, which housed 2,045 residents.

The Gastronome, the residential dining facility, is planning on opening with modifications. Self-service will be replaced with staff-served or grab-and-go stations, and COVID-19 safety regulations in regard to food preparation and cleaning will be added.

Additional safety regulations will be employed by the entirety of the campus. A COVID-19 safety coordinator has been appointed and will address health screening, personal hygiene, personal protective equipment, physical distancing and enhanced cleaning, according to the campus plan.

The fall semester begins on Aug. 17, and the first day of classes will be on Aug. 22.

The post Over 4,000 students to return to campus during fall semester; Titan Student Centers to remain closed appeared first on Daily Titan.

Donté Epps, a 29-year-old Black man, saw his bail reduced by $900,000 in a hearing at the Orange County North Justice Center in Fullerton last Friday over the stabbing of his roommate, for which the court acknowledged could have been a mental episode.

Judge Cheri Pham reduced his bail from $1 million to $100,000 and assigned him a pretrial date for Sept. 4. Later that day, Epps was released after posting bond. 

Terronda Epps, his mother, started a petition four weeks ago on Change.org called “#FREE Donté Epps,” where she expressed her disappointment in the United States justice system and escalating racism. 

“Clearly this case is assault, but not attempted or premeditated murder. Donté was clearly over-charged. The police report from the defendant states that she (who is Caucasian) was aware he was having a mental breakdown in which he thought he was protecting them,” the petition stated. 

The petition had nearly 5000 signatures as of Sunday night.

As of Friday, Epps is pleading not guilty to assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm, false imprisonment, criminal threats, dissuading a witness by force and resisting an executive officer. He denies inflicting great bodily injury and personally using a deadly weapon. 

The incident occurred in Buena Park on Oct. 4, 2019. His family has said that he was suffering from a mental breakdown the night of the stabbing. The roommate’s mom was also present, but did not suffer any injuries. 

The victim, who asked the Daily Titan to conceal her name for confidentiality and safety reasons, suffered a non-life threatening laceration to her upper chest as a result of the stabbing and stated that she had never questioned her safety around Epps before this incident. 

“Even two hours prior to this event we had a civil conversation,” the victim said.

After the incident, Epps was held at the Theo Lacy Detention facility for nine months.

His release came after Orange County activist groups argued to reduce his bail and that Epps needed a mental health evaluation to move forward with the case, said OC Protests President Zoe-Raven Wianecki.

OC Protests, Transforming Justice OC and OC Justice Initiative were the lead groups calling for Epps’ release and protested outside the courthouse during the hearing. 

The victim said that she is a different person than she was before the October incident, and seeing the recent advocacy for Epps’ release has made her feel anxious and diminished.

“Since October, I have been to therapy and I am trying to work through the events of that night but my sense of self safety has shifted,” the victim said.

The victim reached out to OC Protests about not providing both sides of the story, after which the group revised their initial post containing Terronda Epps’ statement and said they were committed to show they were open to hearing both sides of the story.

OC Protests’ Instagram post on Thursday had originally included a caption of Terronda Epps open letter to the community, which encompassed her perspective and concerns over her son’s situation.

Wianecki said that the caption was changed to better align with their community and goals as an organization.

“We wanted to make sure that we were supporting as many of our community members as possible,” Wianecki said. “In order to do right by both of them, we decided that it would be best to take out Terronda’s message while we are still very adamant that Donté needs to be supported.”

Using the “In re Humphrey case” as reference, Pham gave careful consideration into the Epps family’s ability to pay bail as to not keep him detentioned due to his monetary limitations. The landmark case requires judges to re-evaluate a defendant’s bail to ensure its validity given the reason for detention, as well as the defendant’s financial standing.

At the same time, Pham also cited Marsy’s Law, the Victims’ Bill of Rights Act of 2008, which provides additional rights to victims, in acknowledging the trauma Epps’ victims endured and the need to protect them, as well as the general public.

Todd Spitzer, Orange County district attorney, said that sending a law-abiding member of society to jail could ruin his future, especially if this was a case of mental illness. Spitzer also went on to talk about the severity of the incident for all parties involved and how this is a matter of public safety.

“The reason I am standing here is because he’s lucky to be alive. He is lucky he was not shot and his roommates are lucky she didn’t suffer more substantial injuries,” Spitzer said. “I want to do the right thing for Mr. Epps and his life, but we need more information.”

Pham ruled that further investigation is necessary to determine whether this was a case of mental illness or drug abuse, but that the main concern in Epps’ bail decision is public safety. 

The victim had also said she believes drugs were involved in Epps’ episode in October, but because he did not undergo a drug test at the time of his arrest, it is difficult to assess what triggered his attack. 

The victim said that while she believes people should be held accountable for their actions, she agrees that the criminal justice department does not adequately address mental health.

“I think the focus should be on reforming mental health treatment and recovery in incarceration rather than freeing someone who violently attacked anyone,” the victim said.

As Epps returns to his family, Wianecki acknowledged the complexity of the situation and wanted to clarify that though her organization advocates for Epps’ release, they do not want it to be at the expense or disregard of the victim’s and her mother’s trauma.

“The system not only failed Donté,” Wianecki said. “Our system is responsible for protecting them both and, unfortunately, it didn’t do that.”

This article previously listed Donté Epps’ bail as reduced by over $900,000. His bail was reduced by exactly $900,000 and has been updated to correct that.

The post Donté Epps released on bail and family voices mental health concerns; victim says recent advocacy for Epps’ release makes her feel diminished appeared first on Daily Titan.

Safety measures such as social distancing have been forsaken by some in the name of herd immunity, which occurs when a group of people becomes immune to a disease which could therefore lower the spread. However, some health professionals, such as Dr. Sajen Mathews of St. Jude, say that the only way to reach herd immunity safely is through a vaccine.

Mathews said that herd immunity is necessary, but reaching that point naturally would require a large cost to human life. 

“The number of people who may die by that exposure is huge. It’s too big of a cost for us to achieve it that way by naturally getting the infection and getting the disease itself, although many may be asymptomatic,” Mathews said on Thursday at a town hall hosted by California Rep. Gil Cisneros.

Mathews said that the only practical way to reach herd immunity is through an effective vaccine. While vaccines typically take 15 to 20 years to develop, the hope is to have a coronavirus vaccine in January 2021 for those who need it most, Mathews said. If everything goes well, there may be a vaccine for the general public in the summer of 2021, he added.

Dr. Harry Peled, also of St. Jude, added that a vaccine must be at least 50% effective to be marketed, but  may leave many people at risk. He said that though there’s plenty of evidence for the effectiveness of vaccines, people should be realistic with the expectations.

In the meantime, masks are mandatory for Californians outside of homes and social distancing is encouraged as COVID-19 cases rise. On July 1, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that he would once again close indoor restaurants and bars for at least three weeks in an effort to slow cases.

Susan Fanelli, California Department of Public Health chief deputy director, said at the town hall that the rise in cases was anticipated as the state initially reopened, but case numbers were climbing. She said that gatherings of multiple households also held part of the blame, along with the opening of business sectors, and emphasized the value of education.

“We know that the way to sort of cut that back is through education of people to take these things seriously, but also if need be to go backwards a little bit and use what we’re calling a dimmer switch to really look at that and really educate people,” Fanelli said.

As of Friday, there have been 22,650 reported COVID-19 cases and 412 resulting deaths in Orange County, according to the OC Health Agency.

COVID-19 testing, which used to be a scarcity when the pandemic first escalated, has also broadened drastically since March.

“Back in the beginning of this pandemic, we were able to only test about 2,000 cases,” Fanelli said. “We are now seeing about 100,000 tests a day, and so the nation is also amping up their testing for.”

She said that this increase has led to temporary supply shortages for the various types of required equipment. She said that there is good availability of testing for the public right now, though noted that they are working with labs to improve turnaround times.

Mathews said that St. Jude hospitals are only testing those who meet certain criteria, such as those who are symptomatic or going into surgery. He said there is not a sufficient amount of tests for everyone.

“We don’t have the ability to test them. This is nationwide, there’s going to be a shortage as the demand really exceeds the supply, and we’re seeing this across all our hospitals too,” Mathews said.

The post Health professionals discuss spiking COVID-19 cases and potential vaccine appeared first on Daily Titan.

The next pre-trial date is scheduled for Sept. 25 by Judge Sheila Hanson at the Santa Ana Central Justice Center.

The trial was moved on account of the COVID-19 pandemic and no motive has been released, according to Vo’s attorney, T. Edward Welbourn.

District Attorney Whitney Bokosky said that, in seeking the death penalty, a definite answer will be determined on Aug. 27. 

It is nearing a year since Chan was fatally stabbed in the College Park faculty parking lot on Aug. 19 at CSUF, a week before fall 2019 classes began. Vo was arrested two days later at his home in Huntington Beach. 

Vo is currently being tried on three counts. He previously pled not guilty for the count of murder and denied the counts of personally using a deadly weapon and special circumstance. 

The post Pretrial of Chris Chuyen Vo postponed once again due to COVID-19 appeared first on Daily Titan.